Vivekacudamani, The Crest Jewel of Discernment - Softcover

Sankara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1931406081 ISBN 13: 9781931406086

Publisher: Aurea Vidya, 2006

Synopsis

In entering the study of the Advaita Vedanta, it is good to keep in mind some preliminary notions which we might say are necessary for a correct comprehension of the whole. What is Advaita Vedanta? What means or instruments does it utilize in its attempt to comprehend Reality? What is the nature of its aim? If we begin by answering these questions, we will be ready to follow with the right intelligence the message given by the great SANKARA in VIVEKACUDAMANI The path which is outlined here is not for the majority, quite the contrary. It is for those who, having attained “maturity”, tend towards full Awakening. It is for those who want to bring about a profound revolution within themselves; and this requires an act of courage, of steadfastness and, at the same time, of great humility.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Advaita Vedanta is pure metaphysics because its fundamental theme is the search for the absolute as pure Real.

One of the instruments with which it seeks to become attuned to the Absolute is Viveka, intellective discernment at a suprasensory level (nous). The Absolute cannot be comprehended with our sensory-mental instrument, which is imperfect, but it can be comprehended with an adequate supramental cognitive instrument, which acts as a bridge.

The analytical and discursive mind, being relative, can comprehend only relative data, just as the sense of sight can detect only a certain limited range of colors. The final aim of Vedanta is to give the individual complete liberation from individual and universal ignorance-avidya, demonstrating that the Absolute is One-without-a-second and that the embodied jiva is equally "That".

About the Author:

SANKARA has been one of the greatest philosophers of India. He dedicated his brief and intense life (788-820) to re-establish the authority of the Sruti, to codify the Advaita Vedanta, the doctrine of Non-duality, and to anchor the Metaphysical Tradition of the Veda through the foundation of monasteries (matha) and monastic orders. With his bhasya (commentary) to the Upanisad, the Brahmasutra, and the Bhagavadgita, and with his own writings, Sankara has profoundly influenced not only India’s philosophical development, but that of the entire world. RAPHAEL is author and Master in the Western Metaphysical Tradition as well as the Vedanta. For over 35 years, he has written several books on the pathway of Non-duality (Advaita). He has also translated and commented a number of key Vedanta texts from the original Sanskrit. His entire work is a conscious reunification of Western and Eastern Traditions into Unity of Tradition. Founder of the Asram Vidya Order, Raphael is now dedicating himself entirely to the spiritual practice. He lives in a hermitage connected to the asram and devotes himself completely to a vow of silence.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aurea Vidya
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1931406081
• ISBN 13: 9781931406086
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328
• Editor: Raphael (Asram Vidya Order)